Anthony Atamanuik takes you on a unique tour of the universe at The Tony Show…

…and go out tonight, but set your recording device for 10:30 pm on Comedy Central for the return of Kroll Show

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-Midnight ($7 for the whole evening): In this 5-hour extravaganza, five of The Magnet’s singing improv groups make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion, followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with a musical improv group to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

8:00 pm ($5): Jackie Kashian (Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing; for hilarious cartoon about LA pet owners, please click here), Becky Yamamoto (rave reviews from The New York Times and The New Yorker; former beard-wearing member of band Stickerbook), Kevin Avery, Jay Welch, and Kerry Coddett-Francis performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Union Hall for this show hosted by Calvin Cole & Sharron Paul that calls attention to its inexpensive price: Cheap Date

8:00 pm ($5): “People from all across America have submitted ideas for the wackiest and most expensive game shows on earth. At this showcase we’ll try out three lucky shows with the help and participation of our gracious live audience. After we’ve attempted to recreate all three, audience members get the chance to vote on which idea gets to go straight to TV” at UCB East hosted by Jo Firestone: The Incredible Game Show Showcase

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Storytellers John Asante, Victoria Scroggins, Jamie Leelo, and Michele Carlo tell true tales about this month’s theme Out in the Cold at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street) hosted by Andrew Linderman: Local Stories: Out in the Cold

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups Grammer, GoodGirl, and Bucky at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Brilliantly innovative comic Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, The Nights of Our Lives) plays oddball characters in a mix of sketch and improv, tonight asking you to “take a journey to the stars by sitting in a chair and looking up at a projection of them on a dirty ceiling. Dr. Neil DeAss Tyson Chickensticks guides us through time and space, and teaches us why the human race is a worthless shit-blip in the grand scheme of the universe” (with help from producer Andy Rocco and Jesse VandenBergh); plus stand-up from Bridey Elliott (razor-sharp rising star; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Witstream, Fambly), Lukas Kaiser (Spike TV), and Morgan Evans (VH1’s Best Week Ever), all performing at the UCB East theatre: The Tony Show

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) and Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): Imposter Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Open-mic sketch that allows you to either perform a sketch with your own performers or bring in pages for the audience to perform at The PIT Green Room, followed by feedback on your bit from PIT “sketch-perts:” Pens & Pencils

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:15 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Jay Dean and Tynan DeLong: Two Nice Guys Open MIc

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

As part of NYCF, Nick Kroll and his executive producers are interviewed by Seth Meyers about Kroll Show…

…and The PIT offers an alternative to the great New York Comedy Festival via dozens of $5 one-person shows: Solocom

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] The New York Comedy Festival features some of the best stand-ups in the world doing headlining sets in major NYC theatres such as the Beacon, Town Hall, and Carnegie Hall during November 6-11. Among the stars performing tonight are John Mulaney (sold out), Anthony Jeselnik (sold out), Bill Maher (sold out), Charley Murphy (sold out tonight, tickets still available for Sunday), Jim Jefferies at Carnegie Hall, and Rhys Darby at Gotham, plus an interview with Nick Kroll (sold out, but see directly below). To explore the entire schedule, please click New York Comedy Festival

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE] 4:00 pm: SNL’s Seth Meyers interviews Nick Kroll, star of Comedy Central’s Kroll Show, plus Nick’s executive producers and co-writers John Levenstein & Jonathan Krisel (who also directs the episodes) at the Museum of Television and Radio. Tickets in the theatre with Nick are sold out. However, you can watch from a screening room for $15, or watch the live stream from the comfort of your home for free by clicking here at 4:30 pm (and if you think you’re hearing my laugh, you probably are, as I’ll be attending this): Seth Meyers Interviews Nick Kroll and Exec Producers of Kroll Show

[TOP PICK] 3:00 pm-Midnight ($5 per show): In the midst of the stand-up and sketch explosion that is the New York Comedy Festival, The PIT is hosting two days of solo performances. Honestly, I wish this event, titled Solocom, was scheduled for some other weekend when it wouldn’t be competing with so many other comedy events; but if you like one-person shows from folks who aren’t yet stars, this is an alternative to what NYCF is offering, with notable performers tonight including Ali Farahnakian, Katie Hartman, Keisha Zollar, Maranda Sarrow, and Brad Lawrence, running at both the upstairs and downstairs PIT theatres for just $5 per show: Solocom

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View), Maddog Mattern (Sirius Radio, Howard Stern TV; to see Maddog handle a heckler, please click here), and more—hopefully including surprise New York Comedy Festival drop-ins to make up for this weekend’s lack of advertised headliners— performing stand-up at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, and more at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then “turn that town’s tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:” The Curfew: Not From Around Here

7:30 pm ($10): Sharp Magnet improvisors “perform organic freeform improvisation in two mind-blowing parts; the only rule is that there are no rules:” The Weave

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($15): The comics who train, teach, and perform at UCB-NY are among the finest improvisors in the world. The UCB Touring Company consists of the cream of the crop, with the mission of showing audiences beyond those visiting UCB’s theatres in NYC and LA what improv is all about. For just this evening, however, the traveling troupe will be strutting its stuff on the UCB Chelsea stage: UCB TourCo All-Stars

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): UCBT Artistic Director Nate Dern, Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Tracey Wigfield (writer for 30 Rock), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Aaron Jackson (Newsadoozies), and more form an improv troupe at UCB East that won this year’s prestigious Cage Match championship by springboarding scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life: What I Did For Love

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: “Starting in 1982, the city of Atlanta threw an annual party called Freaknik which essentially became the largest black spring break party in the country. The party became so big and wild that the city shut it down for good in 1996. But comedians Andy Sandford, Noah Gardenswartz, and Steve Forrest are bringing Freaknik back…to Long Island City. ‘Comedy Freaknik’ will be a lot like the original Freaknik, except it’s going to happen once a month, and it will be a comedy show hosted by three white guys. That’s basically the only difference” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Freaknik

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:30 pm: Stand-up from Becky Yamamoto (rave reviews from The New York Times and The New Yorker; former beard-wearing member of band Stickerbook) and musical improv from Lady Zoo at this free monthly variety show at UCB East that’s hosted by Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger) and Poupak Sepehri, and features improv jams led Yom Kippurpants, James III, and more: The Soul Glo Jam

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show (“starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one”) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Jhoel Walkowski & Evan Davis: The Amateur Hour

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

7:00 pm ($5): “Christine Holt and Mary Guiteras both worked at The Magician, a bar in NYC’s Lower East Side. It was there that they realized they loved being oddballs. Sometimes they’d get in trouble because they’d be so busy being odd, they’d forget about their customers. Now they do it on stage,” and are tonight joined by Erin Lennox and Margaret Lyons for this show mixing stand-up, storytelling, and improv at The PIT downstairs lounge: Bartenders: Ladies’ Night

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features troupes Huxtable and City Mouse: Lloyd Night

…and in the other half of this sketch comedy double-bill, “Four traveling salespeople whose car broke down in your suburban neighborhood. They’ve come knocking… but what are your neighbors doing behind those doors?! The Partners are determined to find out, and sell some patented Ice Mix™ in the process:” Former Business Partners: Everything Must Go

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets “and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10 at the door or $11.80 in advance online): Storytelling, stand-up, and carny join forces to bring the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, hosted by Jeff Simmermon (NPR’s This American Life, The Moth), and tonight featuring storytelling by Jeff, Brad Lawrence (Moth GrandSlam Champion, FringeNYC, co-host of The Standard Issues), and Daisy Rosario; stand-up by Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; host of UCBT’s School Night, member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky); sideshow antics by Abigoliah Schamaun; and burlesque by Cherry Pitz and Magdalena Fox, all at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue): And I Am Not Lying

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors including Charlie Todd, John Murray, and John Frusciante “gather around the couch to turn each others’ bizarre tales and armchair philosophies into an evening of improv comedy. It’s like hanging out with your friends, except that your friends are really funny and need to suddenly turn their stories into improv scenes” at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Living Room

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors—and actual brothers—Will Hines and Kevin Hines make use of their intimate knowledge of each other to gracefully invent scenes (hopefully without any fighting) at UCB East performing as duo The Brothers Hines

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB’s classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (Doppelganger) hosts as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. (Tonight’s scheduled guests include Katey Healy-Wurzburg, Adam Newman, and Luke Thayer; for the complete list, please click here.) Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a weekly show at UCB Chelsea makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket ‘O Buckets

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house troupe Grandma’s Ashes: The Improv Jam

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets “and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

8:00 pm ($5): Comics who are sports junkies talk about their passion at The PIT downstairs lounge: Sports! Live!

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors—and actual brothers—Will Hines and Kevin Hines perform color commentary on an improv set by other top improvisors at UCB East for this monthly event: The Brothers Hines: Play by Play

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB’s classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: A jaw-dropping dark comedy group, which includes members of ace sketch troupe Murderfist, will terrify Manhattan for an hour at the Comedy Bar (134 West 29th Street): The Cowmen

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: While the wonderful Sasheer Zamata is busy with other duties, her semi-depressing comedy pal Charla Lauriston hosts as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. (Tonight’s scheduled guests include NPR storyteller Jeff Simmermon and TV Guide Network stand-up Phoebe Robinson; for the complete list, please click here.) Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a weekly show at UCB Chelsea makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket ‘O Buckets

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

Character genius Nick Kroll’s new Comedy Central sketch show is previewed tonight for free at Carolines…

…Reggie Watts performs at Brooklyn’s The Moon Show…

…and Jackie Kashian performs at both The Afterlife and Sweet

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) and Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): Imposter Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Open-mic sketch that allows you to either perform a sketch with your own performers or bring in pages for the audience to perform at The PIT downstairs lounge, followed by feedback on your bit from PIT “sketch-perts:” Pens & Pencils

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Chesley Calloway (co-host of renowned Comedy as a Second Language): The Ches Club

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-Midnight ($7 for the whole evening): In this 5-hour extravaganza, four of The Magnet’s singing improv troupes make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: Mint Condition and Fisticuffs (at 7:00) and BEEES! and Vulcan (at 8:30); followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with musical improv troupe BEEES! to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($7.37 if you use code BREAKOUTonline or by phone, plus 2-drink min.) A stand-up who’s performed on MTV, co-hosts Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here, and runs the popular blog Sandpaper Suit, headlines for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Matt Ruby

7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes A Sparrow, Rocks, and Guthrie at this first half of Harold Night

8:00 pm ($10): NYC’s only episodic monthly burlesque show, featuring a different script each month and a rotating cast, tonight presents a Sherlock Holmes tribute: “The famous residents of 221B Baker Street have departed London and are investigating an international web of mystery whose strings all lead back to The Home for Wayward Girls and Fallen Women. Will even the brilliant mind of Sherlock Holmes and the dogged friendship of his trusted companion Dr. Watson be enough to unravel the clues before some evil falls on Cherry Pitz, the grand dame of The Home?” Find out with award-winning storyteller Cyndi Freeman and friends performing at R Bar (218 Bowery, off Prince Street): Hotsy Totsy Burlesque: A Study in Pink

[TOP PICK] [FREE, plus chance at prizes; call (212) 757-4100 to reserve seats] What may well end up being the best sketch comedy series to appear on Comedy Central since Chappelle’s Show debuts tomorrow night at 10:30 pm. You don’t have to wait for comedy genius Nick Kroll’s new series, though, because the network is throwing a free screening tonight at the Carolines Comedy Club. It’s not entirely without cost—you have to sit through an episode of Workaholics. But that’s a price well worth paying to enjoy the kickoff of Kroll Show

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes The Regulars, Bucky, and GoodGirl—plus advanced improv students “are going to challenge themselves by performing a show that they only just learned,” summed up as Instant Gratification—at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): A weekly wild experiment in dark comedy, blending sketch and improv, from brilliant, fearless, and innovative comic Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, Huffington Post, The Nights of Our Lives). Tonight Tony has been kidnapped by gypsies; “They’ve cursed the show and have an enough babies to toss at every member of the audience!” Plus there’ll be stand-up from guests Bridey Elliott (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Witstream, Fambly), Justin Shanes (writer for Jimmy Fallon), and Phil Hanley (Jay Leno), all at UCB East produced by Andy Rocco: The Tony Show: Gypsies, Scramps, and Sleeves

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.